Saturday, October 9, 2010

NAIA Procedure to Travel

Its been a while since I travel to Dubai and I forgot most of the details on how to go about it. It was also my first time to travel on a Residence Visa as I usually come home as an OFW.

Upon my arrival at the terminal 1 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). I immediately fall in line to check-in my baggage. However, I was told that I need to pay the Travel Tax prior to the boarding pass.

Travel Tax Full Rate for first class travelers' is Php2,700 and Php1620.00 for economy class. Standard Reduced rate is at Php1350.00 for the former and Php810 for the latter. OFW dependent are given at Php 400 and Php 300 respectively. However, all supporting documents should be original to avail of this benefit.

Right after checking-in your luggage, you will be going another area where you have to pay for the Terminal Fee. Note that this is a separate amount to be paid from the travel Tax. I paid Php 950.00 for this.

The next process is the Immigration area where all travelers will be ask to sign a Departure Card required to be presented to the Immigration officer together with your passport, Visa and your boarding pass.

Immigration has a new rule to queue in line. They have a single line for all departing individuals unlike the previous regulations where you can choose the immigration officer and try your luck several times should you be declined to leave the country.

Airport has improved on its appearrance, mind you. It still fall short compared to other airports but its now cleaner. I was also happy to see a Kiddie Traveler Lounge. But the washroom still need a major! major! improvements.

I wasn't very impressed with the food choices inside the airport as there were limited stores to choose from. The first thing that comes to my mind was my Mocha Frapp decaf with coffee jelly. But they only have Bo's coffee as alternative and I was not fond of its taste. Also, their version of frap kept me awake the whole time since they do not have decaf. One thing I learned but still broke the rule everytime-Never drink coffee while you travel should you wish to rest your mind and body. I was feeling the numbness with the 8 hour nonstop travel but I couldn't sleep with all the caffeine boost of the tall coffee. I wish to avoid drinking coffee on my future travel or at least get the decaf.

I took the Emirates Airlines again as I wanted to just sit back and watch movies instread of taking a connecting flight. I must say, I like EK333 with its well-maintained facilities. The place was not crowded too as there were only few travelers on this flight. A lot of seats were unoccuppied.